Banedon
Banedon is the Guildmaster of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, the magician's guild in Toran, a Sommerlending port north of Holmgard. When he first appeared (in ''Flight from the Dark''), he was a novice, but he quickly advanced in rank throughout the series and eventually became Guildmaster. He later becomes Lone Wolf's as well as Grand Master's teacher in the use of left-hand magic as well (in the Kai Grandmaster and the New Order series). Lone Wolf can meet Banedon in Flight from the Dark, saving him from some Giaks in the process. They soon become fast friends, and end up aiding each other considerably during Lone Wolf's adventures. He saved Lone Wolf from pursuit in ''Shadow on the Sand'' and accompanied him to the Tomb of the Majhan, although he did not take part in the fight against Darklord Haakon. He next shows up in ''The Cauldron of Fear'' as a travelling companion, and one of the strategists defending Tahou against Darklord invasion. After Lone Wolf returned from the Daziarn in ''The Masters of Darkness'', he was one of the first to welcome Lone Wolf back to Magnamund, as well as an architect of the plan to sneak Lone Wolf to Helgedad to end the Darklord threat forever. Banedon continued to feature prominently in the Grand Master series. If Lone Wolf selects the Kai-alchemy discipline, Banedon is listed as his teacher of left-handed magic. With the Darklords defeated, he helped the Elder Magi and the Herbwardens in the long and ardous process of reclaiming the Darklands, during which he was kidnapped by Darkland agents acting on the behest of Archdruid Cadak in ''The Captives of Kaag''. The main aim of the book is to rescue him. Afterwards, he makes much briefer appearances in ''The Deathlord of Ixia'', where he can impart the Dessi gem to Lone Wolf; ''Dawn of the Dragons'', where he helps to defend the Kai Monastery while Lone Wolf was away, and the final two adventures in the series, ''Wolf's Bane'' and ''The Curse of Naar'', where he acts as a counselor. In the New Order series, Banedon is less prominent. Although he is also Grand Master's teacher in left-handed magic if Grand Master chooses Kai-alchemy, he did not join Grand Master in any of his adventures in Southern Magnamund. He makes brief apparances in ''Rune War'' and ''Trail of the Wolf'': in the midst of Lord Vandyan's conquests, he traveled to Palmyrion to assist its leader, Elector Manatine, to resist the Eldenorans. After Grand Master's mission, he retrieves Grand Master from Duadon using his skyship Cloud Dancer. In Trail of the Wolf, Banedon transports Grand Master to Gazad Helkona on his mission. During the trip, he expressed gratitude for the chance to pay Lone Wolf back for rescuing him in The Captives of Kaag. He did not accompany Grand Master into Gazad Helkona, but he rescues Grand Master and Lone Wolf when they were trapped in inner Gazad Helkona at the end of the adventure. Skyship Banedon's most well-known resource is his skyship - first the Skyrider, later the Cloud Dancer - with which he can transport Lone Wolf to the scene of a crisis faster than conventional transportation would allow. His skyship is crewed by a company of dwarves led by bo'sun Nolrim of Bor, who are fiercely loyal to him. Banedon acquired Skyrider after a drunken card game where his opponent bet the ship and crew against the "favours" of Banedon's raven-haired friend Jenara. The statistics of the game indicated he could be forced to fight his opponent physically for the pot. He realized he was bound to lose such a fight, so he cheated (i.e. used magic) to win, something he was almost incapable of doing given his drunken state.The Tellings, Legends of Lone Wolf #9. Skyrider was destroyed in Dawn of the Dragons. Banedon had used the skyship to transport Lone Wolf to Lencia in The Deathlord of Ixia, but Naar mounted an attack on the Kai Monastery while Lone Wolf was away. The attack resulted in a siege. Banedon, Lord Rimoah and ten of the most senior magicians of the Brotherhood of Crystal Star attempted to break through the siege aboard the Skyrider, but Naar's Lavas brought the Skyrider down. It crashed afire, killing three of the Brotherhood's magicians, although Banedon and Lord Rimoah survived the landing. When Lone Wolf made it back to the monastery, he gifted Banedon with a new skyship, the Cloud Dancer. Legends of Lone Wolf The Legends of Lone Wolf series fleshed out Banedon's history considerably. In particular, he develops a love-hate relationship with the demi-goddess Alyss. Alyss had gotten herself trapped in limbo after a magical fight against Vonotar the traitor, but Banedon rescues her. According to Alyss, the map of the future as laid out by the gods indicated they would fall in love with each other, but her cheeky personality led Banedon to hate her at one point as well. See also * How to Meet Banedon in Flight from the Dark References Category: Characters of Good Category:Characters